A Circle Closing

Tme off, Residency and some inter alia

We took a few days off at a cabin near a lake. It seems to me it’s been ages since I had any time off despite feeling I have tons of free time.

I realize I don’t really.

Self-employed people don’t allow themselves free time even when they want to.

The brain is always connected to a to-do and even if I spend hours in my studio/office drawing and painting for what seems like hours, I realize every hour feels like a train of tasks.

I often ask myself what is a vacation?

As a reluctant traveller, a vacation means not thinking about logistics. A vacation is almost like a retreat where I’m fed and left alone to read. I don’t have to wash and put away dishes, I don’t have to worry about “what to do” or “making the most of it”.

Vacation is also trying new restaurants, stopping for a drink at a terrace, walking in nature and sometimes being able to nap (which in my current insomniac state I can’t).

Vacation is leaving screens behind. This time, I only took my sketchbook, printer paper and some charcoals I mostly did some sketching and some asemic writing.

I also took the Biography of Agatha Christie on paper and my Kindle.

Mostly I didn’t want to think about art for a few days.

The residency is ending and I just have to go back to add a few details to the paintings and pick up all my materials.

I’m happy with what came out of this month-long opportunity.

Moving on

I finally experienced what it means to create a series or collection. I found a process, a routine, and a way of working that propelled a good number of paintings.

The theme is one I constantly ponder and it relates to the concept of vacation and rest.

I also learned how it feels when the theme exhausts itself and it’s time to start moving on to something else.

I recognize the fear that comes with an ending: will something else emerge? Or was this it?

This short vacation came at the perfect time because it helped me take a step back and empty my mind.

Work in Progress, Oil on board

In the meantime here is some Inter alia:

This year I suspended all my Streaming subscriptions and can’t bring myself to watch hardly any movies or series. Everything seems to be pumped out in a hurry. There is no sophistication, creativity or comedy. I’ve tried to watch recommendations from friends, and the media and I’ve spent hours trying to choose one film but no. Everything feels empty and effortless, not in a positive way. Maybe it’s just saturation.

But if you make any kind of art, you have to learn from the most creative individuals from the past.

Why? Because they didn’t have the internet. You can learn how they cultivated their creativity by researching beyond what is easily available.

And so here is what I’ve been listening to and watching:

The First Time With a BBC podcast of interviews with musicians talking about their influences, their first records, their first gigs, and their first experiences on stage. It’s fascinating. I loved the episode with Boy George, that guy is so lovable.

I didn’t know about Tubi the free streaming service. I thought it was a catch but no, it really is free, except with ads but they’re not as tiresome as on YouTube. I guess it’s worse the more popular a film is, but they have a wonderful catalogue of documentaries with different artists and bands: Kate Bush, The Smiths, Brian Eno.

Meet Me in The Bathroom is a documentary based on the book about the early 2000s independent New York music scene with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and The Moldy Peaches. Again, just before the internet became ubiquitous Napster emerged.

Because Kate Bush admired the dancer and performer Linday Kemp I watched a documentary and made some drawings. I won’t link the documentary because his work was pretty out there and a bit obscene, but I love to draw from Butoh and other seemingly “ugly” body movement performances. So if you’re interested google him. He was very close with David Bowie.

So here it is! I’ve included some random sketches I made with charcoal at the cabin.

Talk soon!

Luisa